Operación 90
Operación 90 (''Operation NINETY'') was the first Argentine ground expedition to the South Pole, conducted in 1965, by ten soldiers of the Argentine Army under then-Colonel Jorge Edgard Leal. It was performed to attempt to cement Argentina's claims to a portion of Antarctica, as well as for scientific reasons and to perfect polar exploration techniques. The operation was named after the target: 90 degree South latitude point (the geographic South Pole). It remains the only documented breach of the provisions of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, which prohibits any military activity on the continent. Leal's team departed on six snowcat vehicles (believed to be Tucker Sno Cat based on the spelling used) from General Belgrano Army Base on October 26, 1965. The main group was preceded by a scouting four-men patrol on a sled drawn by 18 dogs. While the scouts remained at 83° 2″ S, Leal and his men reached the geographic South Pole on December 10. They then returned to Base Belgrano, whic ...
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